Dalek Attack is an action game based on the BBC series Doctor Who. It was developed by 221b Software and published by Alternative in 1993 for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, and ZX Spectrum.
In this platformer-shooter, which supports 2-players simultaneous play, you can be the Doctor, choosing from the Seventh (the one played by Sylvester McCoy), the Second (Patrick Troughton), or the Fourth (Tom Baker). Why this choice of Doctors? "Who" knows...
If you play with a friend, the second player will control Mel Bush Ace (companion of the Seventh Doctor) or a Unit soldier. You and your friend will fight, of course, the Daleks, controlled by their creator Davros.
The graphics and effects are excellent. Unfortunately, we can't say the same for the gameplay. The first level is almost impossible, but the rest is a bit better. Of course, you will have to ignore the fact that the Doctor would never use weapons.
Not exactly a great game, but as you know, the choice of games based on Doctor Who is really limited. You can have some fun with this one, especially if you are in two. EX-TER-MIN-ATE!
As a lifelong fan of Doctor Who, I bought Dalek Attack upon release. There had been so few Doctor Who games prior to this, and they had been pretty primitive games on much older systems. So with all the potential of the Amiga and other machines of the day, a proper action-packed Doctor Who game was long overdue, even if the series had been off air for a few years by that point.
You have to give the makers credit for effort in the graphics and music as well as the animated title sequence and comic book-style segues (clearly based on a random variety of reference photos from different stories), but you also get the impression this game was made by people only with a passing knowledge of the show... the odd choice of three Doctors (and likewise companions) from which to play perplexes me to this day. Surely it would have been better to either have seven lives (each of a different regeneration), or simply stick with the seventh (then current) Doctor?! Although there are nice little references to the show's history dotted about, so much of the game simply doesn't feel particularly Who-ish. The Daleks are well drawn, Jelly Babies give you extra lives and you shamble along collecting Doctor Who logo icons, and even the Robomen make an appearance. Everything is nicely drawn and animated, but that's pretty much where the fun ends.
For a game with such a wide scope, given the subject matter, what we're left with is a below-standard platformer, and a ridiculously difficult one at that. The gameplay is beyond terrible – your energy depletes in no time and you're not even aware you've lost lives. I did play it a lot back in the day and even managed to complete it, once I'd gotten into the swing of things, as it wasn't a very large game. But Dalek Attack could have been so much more - it was a missed opportunity, and being released shortly after the original series' cancellation probably didn't help matters.
Yet despite all of this, I still have a soft spot for it...
Review by: GN Team
Review by: theLightDreams
Download for PC 
Download for Mac